Why the three-way trade helps the San Diego Padres, and why it hurts

Position of strength for position of need

A.J. Preller shipped away a player in a position of strength for the Friars — corner outfield. It’s been discussed all season long how San Diego has a glut of outfielders, and how tough it’ll be to cement just one or two players in the lineup moving forward.

With that said, center field has been a gaping hole for a while now. While Manuel Margot has been hot recently, the Friars lack a man up the middle in their top 10 prospects list — the highest ranked prospects are Tirso Ornelas, who’s 15th in the Padres system, and Edward Olivares, who ranks 20th.

Ultimately, the Padres swapped a position of strength for a position of need. Yes, Reyes has raw power and a personality that can’t be replicated, but none of those translated to good defense — in 2018 and 2019 combined, he had a -4.4 UZR, -11 Defensive Runs Saved, and a -10.7 DEF. If we had to choose between Reyes and Hunter Renfroe, Reyes was the one who needed to go.

Renfroe will likely start in right field moving forward, which should be his best position for the team. The Padres also have several prospects and players who will try to snag that left field spot, which probably belongs to Wil Myers for the time being.

In exchange for a player in crowded position, San Diego got a top 30 prospect in Taylor Trammell, who was the Reds number one prospect. He’s a speedy left-handed outfielder, who could fill in nicely at center field, which fits the bill almost perfectly for a position that the Padres desperately needed.

Who knows what this will mean for Margot, though. Perhaps he’ll be packaged in a last-minute deal to the New York Mets for Noah Syndergaard, as the Mets have previously expressed interest in Margot.

Or, the Padres might decide to flip Trammell in a different trade — a top 30 prospect will be valuable to someone, somewhere who doesn’t need an MLB-ready starter right away.